Hungary can only be strong through the reinvigoration of provinces, Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog said on Saturday at the closing event of the Gáspár Károli program in the northern Hungarian town of Gönc.

The event took place as part of a church mass during which Mr. Balog said that Hungary and its capital rely on the provinces to provide them with the strength of clear sources. He said provinces can also be instrumental in safeguarding Hungarian identity. Quoting former Hungarian cultural minister Kunó Klebelsberg, Mr. Balog said that true strength lies in Hungarian language and culture, not in weapons and armies.

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Mr. Balog said that cultivating and preserving the Hungarian language is closely related to the preservation and power of belief. “This language is what has kept us alive”, Mr. Balog said, recalling that theologian of the Reformed Church Gáspár Károli completed the Hungarian translation of the Bible 425 years ago, adding that without that translation, the Hungarian language would probably have been lost by now.

At the closing event, Bishop of the Northeast Hungarian Reformed Diocese József Csomós gave an overview of the Károli program, which focuses on three parts: the translator, printing and remembrance. He said that the translator as a component involves the renovation of the Gönc Roman Catholic church, believed to be the burial place of Gáspár Károli. Archeological research during the restoration did not confirm this, so the final resting place of Károli remains unknown.

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Referring to the printing part, the restoration of the Vizsoly church and the establishment of a print museum in a nearby building of the church have been highlighted.

The third part of the program was remembrance, which consisted of the overhaul of the Gönc Reformed church and the expansion of the Károli Museum, creating a dedicated place for a Bible exhibition.

The Károli program was part of the 500-year anniversary of the Reformation and had a total cost of 450 million forints (EUR 1.43 million), the bishop said.

(Ministry of Human Capacities)